The Experiment Revolution

Dear Blue Notebook,

I may or may not get personal with you. I don’t know yet. We’ll see.

The History of the Experiment Revolution by Raidah: Once upon a time, a young boy by the name of Christopher Abbott began to read fantasy books, leading him to the idea of mixing human DNA with animal DNA. This idea stayed with him until college. He began to collect specimens as soon as he entered graduate school. He knew it would be a lengthy process because test tubes and other fancy mechanics had to be used since the hybrids weren’t created yet and specie-mixes can’t reproduce (take ligers and mules as examples).

For his first specimen, he stole human DNA from a local science lab and brought it back to his apartment to mix it with his leopard DNA (I have no idea how he got ahold of this. Pretend he mauled a leopard in the wild and won by chopping off its head with an ax) in a test tube. It only took seven months for the hybrid to develop. He raised the child for about ten years (finding this lab within that time). The problem was the child wasn’t developing the way he wanted. It had extra tails, no teeth, and the fur grew in patches. As for its mentality, it lacked any hunting skills; it was too clumsy to be stealthy; and it didn’t mature past three years old. Dr. Abbott declared it a failure, so he gave it an overdose of a drug and threw it away in a dumpster.

Apparently Experiments aren’t worthy of proper funerals.

He grew a specimen of both Terra and Marine’s hybrids from a test tube as well but he noticed only after a year that they were turning out like his first one so they were disposed of too. It wasn’t until he started on Skyler’s type of hybrid when he discovered stem cell research. If one is injected with their own stem cells, the white blood cells won’t fight them off and they can grow a new structure. Dr. Abbott spent months trying to figure out how to manipulate the animal’s stem cells to replace already existing human cells. Looking at how we turned out, it’s obvious he figured out a way to do it but he chose not to disclose this information (“Experiments don’t need to know how they were created. All they need to do is exist”). The Avian Sapien before Skyler took about two years to fully become what Skyler is now. It looked exactly how Dr. Abbott wanted it to and even had the mentality Dr. Abbott was going for. The only reason this Avian Sapien is no longer around is because it became very sick and died on its own (Dr. Abbott unknowingly abducted a kid with a heart condition. He found out when HAVE YOU SEEN ME? posters for the kid went up).

This success is what sparked Dr. Abbott’s idea of the Experiment Revolution, which he finally told us about. If he was able to turn one already existing human into partly an animal, then he could do it to many. With this Revolution, his goal is to turn thousands of children, ages ranging from five to eighteen, into hybrids. The type of hybrids will vary, and Dr. Abbott hopes to use them to fight against the government that he claims has been trying to shut down his lab. He wants to prove that this kind of science is indeed possible and he plans on using all these new species to create an Empire. He learned how to speed up the process of creature-making, capture four children, and weeks later we look like this. Skyler’s job is to collect DNA from animals in the sky and also keep guard of the lab. Marine’s job is to collect DNA from animals in the water. She can collect animals in both salt and fresh water because her gills were designed to withstand both (“Hashtag osmosis” is what Dr. Abbott said about this). Her other job is to spy on children and let Dr. Abbott know which ones are valuable enough. Terra’s job is to collect DNA of animals on land and to also spy on government officials. Her nails are made for digging, so she can dig tunnels to wherever she needs to go. Sometimes it will take days, but Dr. Abbott said that’s more time to collect DNA.

Skyler asked what they would be putting the DNA in. Dr. Abbott opened a box of syringes. They will be used to collect the blood of the bigger animals. Smaller ones are to be captured and brought to the lab. Dr. Abbott didn’t say whether or not he will set them free after he is done.

Terra asked what exactly she has to spy for.

“Anything,” Dr. Abbott told her. “What they’re planning to do with the country may affect my goals. And if they find out about this Revolution. We don’t want them fighting back.”

If this all goes what Dr, Abbott considers “well”, surely the government will notice either a change in the size of the population and/or the physical changes. Dr. Abbott didn’t mention this, so I don’t think he took this into account.

Anyway, the other three seemed frightened. Terra mentioned she doesn’t want to do this. She dislikes the idea of children and even animals losing their homes. Dr. Abbott laughed at her and told her not to worry. The lab is to be their new home and then the Empire after that. Skyler asked where this Empire will be. Dr. Abbott said the White Jackets are trying to create an island. It took a lot of will for me to not laugh at this. The others didn’t question this statement. If Dr. Abbott can make animal-human hybrids, then he can probably make an island is what they probably thought.

He went on about how beautiful the island is going to be but I realized he never mentioned what I will be doing in this Revolution. I asked.

My job is to collect the humans Marine picks out and take them to the lab. I have to either persuade them or sneak up and capture them. It depends on who they are. I have Dr. Abbott’s permission to threaten them with death and if they still don’t cooperate, I can actually kill them (“We don’t need people in this world who don’t think this is a great idea,” Dr. Abbott said).

All of us were silent with this new information. My stomach was going crazy. Dr. Abbott said we may care about the “stupid” humans now, but once our minds become more animalistic, we won’t think twice.

The other three were given notebooks to write in and then we were dismissed.

Now I’m sitting in my cage, contemplating my life.

My thoughts on this Revolution? I don’t know what they are. I think it’s great that science is advancing; I really do. But do I think we should be using it like Dr. Abbott is? Not really. It’s messing with nature. Nature formed humans and animals to be the way they are for a reason. Each have impact in the ecosystem. Messing with that could turn the world around. Birds could be the ones becoming carnivores while lions eat leaves off a tree and get hunted by zebras. For all we know, this could be such a disaster that everything goes extinct.

Imagine how frightened the animals will be if they’re brought here. One minute they’re burrowing away into their homes. Suddenly they’re brought here just to be prodded with syringes and to be squished into a cage that’s too small to even sit in. It will become chaotic in here with all the noise and smells. Not to mention there will be plenty of predator-prey couples.

There is still confusion as to what the government has to do with any of this. I’m sure Dr. Abbott will be put to death once they find out what he’s doing (because, let’s face it: this is basically cruel and unusual punishment of some sort), but Dr. Abbott is more concerned with their plans for the country. Nothing will affect this lab except for maybe the funding. But I think it’s safe to assume the government isn’t what’s giving Dr. Abbott the money. He has to be getting it from somewhere else if he hasn’t been caught doing experiments like this.

Then there are the innocent humans that will be forced to partake in this. Just like the four of us, they don’t have any say. Dr. Abbott will begin the injections immediately before they can protest. I’m sure some will look beautiful at the end but others will look disfigured. After all, Dr. Abbott only has four hybrids down. Lord knows if he already started working on his other ideas. Mistakes will cross his path, and the experiments will either be thrown away or doomed to a life crunched up in a cage so Dr. Abbott can “learn” from his mistakes.

And what about the humans I have permission to kill? How am I supposed to do that? I’ve never killed anyone before; the thought never even crossed my mind. Who in their right mind would not protest to being kidnapped? Imagine the defense mechanisms that will be portrayed. Kicking. Screaming. Swearing, no doubt. And I’ll have to deal with it. I’ll have to look these humans in their frightened eyes and tell them everything’s going to be okay. I’ll swallow down my guilt and somehow lie to their faces. No, they won’t want to become animals. But I have to convince them that the atrocity isn’t one at all. It’s just Nature advancing, apparently.

I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t want to do what I’ve been assigned but who knows what Dr. Abbott will do if I don’t follow through.

Only Skyler and I are writing in our notebooks. Marine’s webbed fingers are preventing her from holding a utensil and Terra can’t see what she’s doing so she decided to scribble all over every piece of paper.